My Dear, We Are All Fools
by chyort.ikh.vosmi
Summary: After the return of Marian, Robin and Regina have an emotional conversation over breakfast. They try, and fail, to reconcile. A somber and heart-wrenching look at what might have happened. Outlaw Queen, rated T. Angst/Romance.


Title: My Dear, We Are All Fools

Rating: T

Pairing: Regina/Robin

A/N: I've been thinking a lot about how Regina and Robin could have reconciled right after the return of Marian. I don't think they ever could have, as Robin is too noble of a character to leave his lover for someone new, but the situation is heart-wrenching. I wanted to try my hand at the emotional conversation that could have taken place over a quiet breakfast. TW for angst and an unhappy ending.

This is my first fic. Your honest feedback would be appreciated. Also, while I speak English fluently, it was not my first language. So please let me know if I misuse idioms that are common to your language.

xx My Dear, We Are All Fools xx

It was a particularly cold and dreary morning in that uncomfortable period where winter has long gone, but spring has not yet begun. It was March. The eighth, to be exact. Normally, Regina would not have remembered such a trivial number, but this date and its significance weighed down on her heart. This was the day that Marian had returned and Regina was reminded once again that evil queens do not get a happy ending. It seemed almost like a mockery of her feelings that the members of her town kept handing her small flowers; had they known of her heartbreak? What did they seek to obtain?

Regina let a long sigh escape from her heavy chest, watching her breath appear and disappear in the brisk Maine air. She was often sad, that much was true. But what made this day worse was she had finally remembered what it was to be happy. For one instant, her khard feelings had faded away, just to be brought back with a 'bam!' right in the bottom of her stomach.

She glanced towards Granny's, just a couple blocks away from where she stood. Robin was waiting for her. Regina had been the one to suggest they meet, but she was having a hard time forcing her feet to move. These were her final moments in which she could grasp onto this fleeting feeling of hope; after this, there could be no more pretending.

It was another ten minutes before she finally made it into the small restaurant, and she was surprised to see it empty except for Robin. The state of the building did not bother her, though; she did not want any of the other town citizens to see her with her emotions laid open.

As she approached the table, Robin looked up. He had already ordered Regina tea, and he had just gotten a small bagel with cream cheese for himself.

"Robin," the dark haired woman said softly, looking him in the eye as she spoke.

"Regina," the woodsman responded just as softly. He diverted his gaze downwards, focusing on his breakfast. He carefully dipped his knife into the cream cheese, his movements slow and calculated, before speaking again.

"I feel I must apologize to you." His voice was pained, and Robin continued to focus on working his cream cheese into the bagel in a small, circular pattern.

"No," Regina said forcefully, and Robin snapped his head up. With a staggered sigh, she sat back against her seat, forcing the anxiety back down in her stomach. "I just mean... No. There is nothing you must apologize to me for."

Robin was silent for a few beats, setting his knife down on the small plate. He brought his pointer finger to the hole of the bagel and mindlessly rubbed his topping of choice into the inner edge. He focused on the texture and malleability of the cream cheese, forcing it deeper and deeper into the bread. It brought him some small semblance of comfort, only wishing the world around him were as easy to manipulate as his breakfast was.

"Regina, when was the last time you ate?"

Regina scoffed at the change of topics. "How is that relevant, exactly?"

"You need to eat. So I ask again, vhen was the last time you ate something?"

Regina pinched her eyebrows together, racking her brain... the past couple days had been such a haze. "I... I don't remember. A couple days ago, maybe."

"Ruby!" Robin called out, and the young redhead came over. "Regina should really eat something."

"Yes, of course. What can I get you, Madame Mayor?"

"I don't know, dear. What is Granny making today?"

"Her friend Mrs. Raskina is actually helping her in the kitchen today, ma'am. What about a nice chicken in wine dish?"

Regina mulled it over in her head, and, deciding she could really use some sort of alcohol in her body, nodded her assent. "That is acceptable."

Ruby offered the pair one last smile before departing the table with her order. "The protein will be good for you."

"You're not getting much protein yourself," Regina said, nodding towards Robin, who was still running his finger around the inside of his bagel. He dipped one finger in the hole of the bagel, and Regina readjusted herself uncomfortably.

"I'm not the one who needs it right now," Robin replied.

"I don't think you're in any position to tell me what I do or do not need," she hissed.

Robin sat back in his seat, confused by her sudden mood change. "Regina..."

"No, Robin. Enough with these... These pleasantries! What position am I in? What do I do now?" Her voice was harsh, but instead of her usual powerful vengeance, the woman just sounded hurt.

"This is not easy for either of us..."

"No, perhaps not, but it's easier for you. It is easier when you have the love of your life to fall back on, and I've just lost mine."

" _You_ are the love of my life..."

"But can you really tell me that Marian isn't?" Regina hissed, and Robin fell silent. "Because the way I see it, she is. And I don't think you ever really let go. You Americans... You capitalists... You always have hope. And that is something an evil queen simply cannot afford to have. You must know that, don't you?"

Enraged, Robin drew his finger out of the bagel, his skin coated in a light layer of cream cheese. He pointed at Regina, his finger stiff and accusing. "Regina, how dare you speak to me that way? As if I never cared for you?"

It was at that moment when Ruby came out with Regina's breakfast, and she sat the tray down on their table, unaware of what she had stumbled into. "Chicken in wine, ma'am. Mrs. Raskina's home recipe."

"Thank you, Ruby," Regina responded curtly, and she dove into her meal, trying to exert her anguish through harshly cutting her meal.

"I have to return to Marian. It is my duty as a man, and my duty as a faithful person. But don't for a second believe I do not love you equally as much."

Taking a bite of the dish, Regina looked at it in disgust. "This is not chicken. It is hen. Don't you understand this whole situation now? You are not the chicken, either. You are nothing but the hen."

"I am more than a hen, and you know it...

"You are the SHE-hen," Regina spat out. Appalled, Robin's jaw dropped.

"Regina, I can't do this. I just... I can't."

"Then leave. My mother beat me, and I cried. And my mother cried. But my father? He vas mad. So yes, you are the hen. You are just like the hen. Deceptive, cold, and utterly uncaring."

Robin shook his head, swiping his finger through the cream cheese of his bagel once more before standing up from the table. "Goodbye, Regina. I wish we could have parted on better terms."

"I do too, Robin," Regina said, voice low. "But you are all so hopeful. And me? My dear, I am well aware of the fact that we are all fools."

With one lingering look, Robin walked out of the restaurant, and out of Regina's life.

Regina cried.

Xx My Dear, We Are All Fools xx

"Дырка от бублика" - an ancient Slavic proverb.


End file.
